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Locals in Syria's al-Quneitra protest against IOF aggression in Golan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
21 Jun 2023 21:24

Locals from the al-Quneitra governorate organized a demonstration in protest of the Israeli occupation forces' aggression on the residents of the Occupied Syrian Golan, affirming their belief in the inevitability of the territories' liberation.

Syrian and Palestinian flags fly in the town of Ain Al-Tineh which overlooks the Israeli-occupied town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, al-Quneitra, Syria, March 26, 2019. (AFP)

Locals from the Syrian province of al-Quneitra organized a protest on Wednesday to condemn the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacks on the residents of the Occupied Golan Heights, as IOF aimed to forcefully appropriate land for a wind turbine project.

During the protest, the participants expressed their solidarity with the people of the Occupied Golan who have been actively resisting the project for the past two days, while being brutally suppressed by IOF troops who have been deployed in the area.

نفّذ أبناء #القنيطرة وقفة احتجاجية تنديداً باعتداءات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي على أهالي #الجولان المحتل، أكّدوا خلالها تضامنهم مع أهالي الجولان الذين يتصدّون بصدورهم وإيمانهم لبطش قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيليّ.

وقد جدّد المحتجّون ثقتهم بحتمية تحرير الأرض المحتلة، وعودة الجولان إلى… pic.twitter.com/GZBroRYWBJ
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) June 21, 2023

On his part, the head of the Committee of Syrian Prisoners and Detainees in Israeli Prisons, liberated prisoner Ali al-Younes, demanded that the international community and human rights organizations take action and pressure the Israeli occupation authorities to halt their expansionist settlement plans.

Al-Younes explained that the occupation plans to confiscate agricultural lands from their rightful owners in order to establish wind turbines on Golan land.

For the second consecutive day, the people of the Occupied Golan stood up in the face of the occupation's expansionist plans, as it deployed large amounts of troops firing tear gas at protesters and closing all roads leading to the town of Hafayer, where the turbines are supposed to be installed.

Furthermore, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that large crowds formed by the residents of the Golan marched towards the work sites in Hafayer to confront the occupation.

The residents of the Occupied Syrian Golan oppose the Israeli project, which is expected to damage 4,500 dunams (4.5 square kilometers) of apple and cherry orchards.

"Israel" has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967 and refuses to recognize Syrian sovereignty over it, despite repeated statements by the United Nations that point to undisputable Syrian sovereignty over the territories in question and the illegitimacy of Israeli presence in the area.

Earlier, Syria renewed its request for the Human Rights Council to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its "serious and systematic crimes and violations against the rights of our people in the Occupied Syrian Golan, including intensifying settlement activities, seizing lands, stealing natural resources, and engaging in demographic changes."